Quarry Development Deal May Be Near

PORTLAND — Six years after paying $1 million for a pair of abandoned brownstone quarries and riverfront acreage, the town finally may be close to realizing a return on its investment.

Local native Ed Hayes and his brothers, Frank and Sean, all of Glastonbury, are proposing leasing the quarries and a 5-acre sliver of riverfront land for a recreation- and education-themed water park.

Brownstone Exploration and Discovery Park would open its initial phase in about a year. The park hopes to attract about 100,000 visitors annually, including hikers, rock climbers, canoers, kayakers, swimmers and scuba divers, said Ed Hayes, who works in construction and is a licensed scuba instructor.

Eventually, Hayes said, the park's rich geology, archaeology and aquatic and plant life could serve as an open-air laboratory for students in elementary and secondary schools and colleges throughout Connecticut and New England.

``We want to make it something special,'' he said. ``It's not going to be like anything else.''

The Hayeses and the board of selectmen have tentatively settled on a five-year lease, with options, for the quarries and riverfront acreage. Aside from an initial $10,000 security deposit, the town would share a percentage of gate receipts for the water park, which Ed Hayes said could open as early as Memorial Day 2006.

The planning and zoning commission is scheduled on June 2 to open a formal review of the lease arrangement, as required by state statutes. From there, the commission will recommend the town proceed or modify the agreement, said First Selectwoman Susan Bransfield.

``The quarries have been the economic focal point of the town and we're returning to that,'' Bransfield said.

For more than two centuries -- until the 1930s -- the quarries were the source of stone for grave markers and buildings as far away as San Francisco and Liverpool, England. As new building materials replaced brownstone and frequent flooding made operating the quarries financially burdensome, they slowly fell into disuse.

In June 1999, the town purchased the quarries and adjoining 40 riverfront acres from the previous owner with a combination of $600,000 cash and forgiveness of about $450,000 in back taxes, Bransfield said.

Today, the 30-acre surface of the north quarry and the companion 9-acre south quarry are within 100 yards of heavily traveled Main Street, Route 17A. The town and quarry supporters have sought a plan and pockets deep enough to bring to life one marketing study's vision of the quarries and Main Street as a regional shopping-leisure destination.

The Hayeses are scheduled to brief the Brownstone Quorum, a local group promoting development of the quarries, on May 23 at 7 p.m. at the town library, said Quorum President Jeanne Dilworth.

``It's a very adventurous proposal,'' said Dilworth, a former selectwoman. With town officials, she has been working with the Hayeses about a year on their plans. ``I think it will work.''

Ed Hayes estimates that completing the park's first phase will cost about $400,000. That will include clearing and cleaning the quarries' rim, as well as removing sunken cars and clearing algae from the water, which is 70 to 90 feet deep.

On his numerous dives into the quarries as part of his training of local firefighters and state police rescue divers, Ed Hayes said, he has seen how far below the waterline the sheer brownstone walls extend. The walls extend 80 to 100 feet above the water in some spots. Hayes also has seen eels, fish and other aquatic life on his dives.

The initial phase also would include construction of two rope ferries to transport visitors into the quarries, where docks and underwater dive platforms would be erected, he said. The scope of the other two development phases hasn't been refined, he said.

Under the proposed lease terms, the town would not collect rent the first two years, according to a copy of the lease. But once the first and second phases of the park are completed, presumably by the third year, the town would get 5 percent of gate sales for the period from May 1, 2007, to April 30, 2008. With the third phase complete, the town's share of the gate would double to 10 percent the following year, then in the year after fix at 15 percent for the remainder of the lease term.

With options, the quarry lease could extend for about 25 years, papers show.

The tenant would be responsible for paying property taxes on any buildings and improvements they make, plus carry general public liability insurance and property-casualty coverage.